Safety third, I almost choked on my coffee when you said that, lol. Personally I would put the Ritchey parts, and wheels on the blued Bianci frame, that would look much nicer.
The Bianchi frame. Remove any stickers that previous owners applied, clean with a rubbing compound then spray with clearcoat. I have always wanted to see how this would look to preserve the patina on an older frame.
Easy peassy. Threaded silver components on the Lemond. Including wheelset. Would change the Bianchi to all black components some chunky tan walls on black wheels. If you are set on bluing the frame, I think the dropouts should be painted to match the painted logos.
This may sound weird but the classic lettering and that old Bianchi blue are just too special to ruin I think. how about taping off the lettered areas and add some black at the rear like a last of the Bontrager Privateers and make the crank black to match.
Missed all the fun. I did a threadless conversion on a 2000 Zurich. Reason was rust had infiltrated under the powder coat near the bottle bosses so I had to strip it down to metal and repaint. I chose semi-matt Rustoleum black so I didn't have to do worry about doing a great job, just laying down the protection. I matched it to a semi-matt Ritchey 1" carbon fork and WCS headset, both of which can still be purchased brand new. Aside, another reason for the conversion was I had been a bit concerned about the safety of 20 yr old carbon forks. But I have since sort of done some testing on a different Zurich. I went 20+ kph into back of a stopped SUV. The front alu rim did a nice job of destroying itself to save the frame and fork, and me. We are all good and fully restored to roadgoing. Conclusion is those Air Rail Lemond forks are chicken done right. I would trust them despite the age unless there is visible damage. The bike had the beautiful original Campagnolo Chorus group, which I kept except converting to back to friction downtube shifters. Now whether 8-9-10 speed wheel, it doesn't matter. Tektro RL320 brake levers are a great hack. They're about $35 new and better quality than any of the original brake-only levers. In the end, the bike looks half stealth, half home-made, and only shows a few subtle Ritchey and Campagnolo labels. It's the best fitting, best riding bike I have. I'm ashamed to admit how much guilty enjoyment I derive from using it to terrorize the everything-cf crowd on any grade.
I also have a Lemond with many Ritchey parts - stem, seat post. The Bianchi would look very cool with a blued frame, with Celeste highlights and Cantilever brakes. Those are my picks.
I would leave the bianchi in the factory color way and use automotive buffing compound to remove the scuffs and scratches build with the origin 8 bar and cantilever brakes (I personally don’t like mixing brake styles). The lemond I would do the carbon fork but get different bars the drop looks huge, as for the Ritchey wheels those would go on the bike I would ride the most
I love the Bianchi the way it is with the original celeste color and black finishing kit, I'd love to see the Lemond threadless with the Ritchie wheelset and drop bars ❤❤
For me the colour of a Bianchi is what make them special, re-paint that specialized in the corner instead😉. For the bianchi, I’d do that retro-neo, looking like a 80’s pro bike but made as comfy as possible, swept back handlebars etc. you will never look for another commuter. For the lemond, reversed, all in neo-retro for sure, it will look awesome. Whatever it turns out in the end I’m sure it will be great (and loads of fun building and riding. Thanks for the constant solid content. Cheers
I feel your pain, just built my surly bc. After all sleepless nights I did a 3x8sp 22/32/42 crankset 170mm, and 11/36 cassette. I've build many bikes and always debate on disk front and rim brake rear. I try to use what parts I have. Debating Wether short or long pull brake levers and matching with shifters. Having watched many of your videos I'm sure you will follow your intuition and resolve the issues as they unfold, love your work an inspiration and insight to others who want to personalise there riding experiance and demonstrates the flexibility of a well built rig that fulfilled a multiple of rolls with imagination you show how it can be done.
Retain the patina! Use silver components, if possible. Keep it simple use post mount brakes and Tange fork. Use Ritchey wheels on the Lemond and the threaded quill stem bar combination.
To redo the frame with paint strip, decals and bluing, will be amazing, but A LOT of work. The easy way is just kleaning/ polish the frame. With a bluing the black Ritchey wheels, Ritchey seatppst, Ritchey stem and the Ritchey bar (of course) will look sweet! Friksjon shifters and cantis, or more modern 1×12/ 2×12? 🤔 No crazy bar set-up wil look god on this slim beautiful frame. Keep it simple. The Lemond with the silver wheels and original threaded fork. Choose the drivetrain you'd like. You can go modern/ electric, hollow-teck or friksjon with classic drive line (Campi?). Can't wait to see how much effort goes into bluing the frame. 😅🔥
Go all gloss black with mint green accents. Black Ritchey wheels, too. Go all Ritchey for the wheels, seat post, stem & bars. No dics, keep the rim brakes..
On the BIanchi Strada. Strip it and blue it, with Bianchi Celeste decals, Ritchey all the way around on bars, seatpost and stem. Use the black wheels and keep the Tange fork. Mine is a 2001 in a very nice metallic burgundy. I have Avid shortys Ultimates and Avid brake levers. Microshift Advent X 10 sp. with both drop bar and flat bar setups I can swap back and forth. Mine is Reynolds 521, nothing special, but man it is a sweet riding gravel bike. It is just nice to see another Strada somewhere!!!
I like the look of the bluing on your other bikes, but on the Bianchi, I think you should repaint it the same color, but change the color of the lettering to orange with a black outline (and maybe some orange accent parts here & there). And I really like alt bars on gravel bikes, but what I think would really look cool on that bike would be either some bull-moose bars or some moustache bars. Also, I think you should keep the current fork and use cantilever breaks.👍
Keep the Bianchi as is, clean the paint up but keep the character and patina. Black out the drievetrain and cockpit. That Bianchi paint would compliment the black better than the Lemond will. White and silver is the classic look on the Lemond. Look forward to whatever build path you choose!
I would leave the Bianchi as is. Classic color way. Then I would pick the style of build and go with it. Your choices of wheels and bars are for completely different bikes. Don’t mix brakes.
Heresy if you repaint a Bianchi. (keep it worn, ripped and real) ... As for the parts, retro (look) alloy parts; stem, seat post, brake levers (like 80's BMX) , perhaps a STX era (or XT) shifters with leather grips, rapid fire type set up and go for a near Ally cat-esque build (the brooks vintage saddle with vintage (look) alloy or chrome parts all the way) Road bike brake calipers (chrome / alloy), white brake cables, Then its down to taste... but mixing in chrome / alloy on a bianchi is a win. (kinda like a rat rod, leather and chrome ). black or carbon is too modern.... but hey ... who am I to say (maybe its a European thing... (italian girls ) Enjoy your vidz... more coffee!
I am dying to see you paint a frame, however, IMHO, Celeste Green is just one of those colors which is special. It is the universal symbol for a Bianchi and it is a lovely color. For the Lemond, I like the Lemond fork but thing you should convert it to threadless with an Innicycle Threadless Conversion Headset. I did that for one of my bikes and was really happy with the result.
Having it blued with the Bianchi Celeste green frame highlights and logos. Then the all Ritchey components and wheels with the cantilever brakes would be my choice. The Lemond with all silver components and wheels would work but I agree that a white frame with black forks and components would look better
Everything Bianchi from those years is amazing! Blueing that frame would be the best way to go with the Bianchi logo outlined with the Green. The silver double wall rims look cool and seem efficient enough. That frame would benefit a lot from an having a sturdier fork, maybe there’s something similar to that salsa fork with cantis.
New mint green paint job , black Richie rim set plus stem, and handlebars, 10speed cassette set, rapid fire shifters then stay with the rim brakes that match that set that my opinion 😊
Bianchi: - patina - retro ritchey parts (maybe even silver) - reg. flat bar, no weird bike packing bars - ritchey Wheelset - tange fork - cantis - Shimano Lemond: - Quill Stem Nice frames. Im excited for the Bianchi
As where as for the second bike frame I would be likely turned into a High Performance by throwing in a really cool racing gears in the rear-end. Try to keep it strictly stripped down.
Cantilevers is probably the best idea for this project considering you have uses for other parts on other projects. They'll be plenty powerful for the bike that you're riding
I would build the Lemond with modern carbon parts and black rims and carbon fork. The Bianchi mint green is pretty dope. Keep that but clean it up as much as you can. You can always repaint some boring black or red or blue bike.
I'm not a fan of black parts but they can look kool. I would go classic with the full Ritchie. Silver parts, wheels, crank, and silver chain. Get radical with the Bianchi. Black parts with a blued frame and bianchi green to highlight the logos...and big toothy tires as the frame will allow.
I would say stiletto fork on the Bianchi if you add a disc brake tab to the frame. Don't mix and match brake types on a build. I also think drop bars for the Bianchi, but that's just me. Threadless for the win on the Lemond.
Colour of the frame : blue the frame leave the name ectr. in brushed steel and the edge of the letters in the green would be cool , with the brakes I don't know what to say every option is ok-ish but I would rather search for some old Magura HS33 (just my favourit thing). The 1st wheel set with the straight spokes in the front is more a road type , so I would take the 2nd set . The riser bar and the salsa stem looks fine to me so I would keep them . I love the look of that Microshift shifter ... reminds me of the good old ones of Shimano and will do a good job if you choose a 34/11 cassette in the back and the STX derailleur would give it a nice retro sporty look .
I think the color is interesting and I like having a bit of patina. Personally I probably would just clean it up, keep it as is. I like matching stem/seatpost/handlebar and Ritchey parts look good on older bikes. The handlebars might be a bit wide for my taste and for this kind of bike, would probably go with something ~600mm. I like the current fork and wheels, the Ritchey wheels look like they would fit better on the road bike.
I'd keep the factory paint on the Bianchi and custom paint the parts with a desert theme; fork, crank arms, bars, seatpost, and hubs. V brakes front and rear, 1x 10 speed, starnut with a hollow bolt to run the front brake cable through. The Lemond would look so rad as a street fighter. Keep shredding 🤙
I think the Bianchi should stay the classic green. Love the black Richey wheels on the Bianchi. I would blue the LeMond because the bluing looks great.
Whatever custom paint(or blueing), it NEEDS to incorporate some Bianchi Celeste. Salsa fork with front mechanical or hydro-mechanical caliper, with the STX-RC levers and derailleur, 1x8. Ritchey wheelset, Ritchey accesories, Ritchey pedals, etc... Build the LeMond as a light fast road bike, threadless...but, maybe find a way for the white Lemond fork to fit a threadless stem.
The bike you would build to see you through an economic depression like the 1930's. Something like a more modern take on a Buffalo bike.Thank You and God bless.
Bianchi green is close in color to oxidized copper that when scuffed, buffed, and lacquered it gives a similar vibe to a rat rod model A. My vote will be randomly sand/sandblast the frame as to expose only certain and sections of bare metal. Whether random, or in specific fashion I digress. After, sand, and polish the exposed steel sections. With chrome components and polished raw sections, you will have yourself a Bianchi with the characteristics of a rat rod paint scheme; incomplete, raw, but someone has taken the time to bring it back to being pure workhorse.
I like the idea of blues steel if it looks like rifle steel when it's done. I don't like logos and brand names so I would leave the bars stem and wheels unbranded and maybe a subtle biabchi on the frame. and the fork you hav on is great as I would go with the same brakes on both ends.
I' very done some bike build. What I would do is build a celeste green bianchi, gravel drop bar, canti, 2x9 or 1x brifter if possible, use the ritchey wheelsblack components . I've build a Lemond, I'd do a drop bar, keep the original fork or it's worthless if separated. Threadless stem extension, any group set sora and up, ritchey finishing kit would be great but I've found plenty of Bonti new take off for cheap which are the wheels I'd look for
For the Bianchi, blue the frame, then get the Bianchi blue/green paint and use it for accents. As for the fork, I would use whichever gives the best ride. I should say the same goes for the LeMond, but I really lean towards keeping the original frameset together. These are both great projects, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
Your bike, your call. To me, Bianchi is Celeste. I've owned a few and would have them no other way. I like a polished old style stem, hate straight forks, am not much more fond of unicorns 😂, don't see a need for more than 7 or 8 cogs. Yes, I'm a bit of a retro grouch. Still to each his own. Am especially curious about the brakes. Cantilever but what kind, style?
1 blue it with Celeste highlights and those retro Bianchi decals. Also go Ritchey for the finishing kit and rims in black. C 😮a you find aBridgestone/Ritchey fork? 2. Lemons with the aluminum colored wheels, threaded fork with quill stem, but change to compact bars. I have a white Pinarello with black Deda finishing kit and DT Swiss 511 rims, looks great, but I think the Lemond would look better retro style.
If you're painting/refinishing the Bianchi couldn't you have a local frame builder add canti posts onto the fork and remove the disk mount for a clean and uniform look?
Lemond: I would look at a 1 to 1 1/8 adaptor to give you more stem and bar options which helps with fit. Bianchi: preferably all canti brakes. I would clean them and get them rolling and swap parts as required, then see what they say to you.
If I was you! I'll keep the original color scheme on the Bianchi; but you could do the Bluing on the tail end and the fork and the Handle bar. As where for repainting it be a good idea. But try to keep the original color scheme.
Keep original paint. The color is classic and what makes it special. I like the silver and black component look. Ritchey wheel set on Bianchi. Keep black Ritchey handlebar and existing fork.
I know I'm late to the party, but here I go: Bianchi: If you repaint it, do it just like the original. Use the Salsa fork, get a Ritchie stem and use the Ritchie wheels. Put the widest slicks that will fit on it. I'd see how it is with the Ritchie bars, but I bet for what you are going for those Origin 8 bars would be pretty boss on it. The Lemond should come together with other parts magically coming to you (though I lean toward the threaded as a start).
Blue it, and give a good tutorial on how to do it, if you can find a Nitto Bullmoose handlebar stem combo, put it on... I have one on my Trek Multitrack.. it looks real cool on an old hybrid and super comfortable.
If you repaint the bianchi, I would go with one of their color schemes. Blue with white decals or (my favourite) black with celeste decals. But, it's also nice as it is right now. I like the LeMonde with the more modernd parts. Also a black seatpost an modernish groupset could make this an absolute weapon. Although, the original fork is lovely. Not sure how I would go from there, though.
If that Bianchi were mine I wouldn’t touch the frame other than cleaning it up. I’d run the Ritchey wheels, seatpost, stem, and bars. But I would run a drop bar because that’s just what I like. And for the fork I’d go on eBay and find a Ritchey carbon CX fork. Overall it’d have a cyclocross vibe with the v brakes.
Look for old kona the project steel fork. It has a brake bosses for cantilever brakes and possibly the same axle to crown length from your Bianchi fork
Go with your feelings. If mine, Ritchey Steam, bar, wheels and seatpost. Color scheme your choice. A 2015 bike scrapped over Is just careless ownership, nothing really antique to preserve. Components your choice, too, resto mod Is a temptation, but agree with the community, dont mix brake systems like an old Walmart bike... Good luck and keep sharing your amazing job with us!
The black bits on the original Bianchi patina look great - just maybe find some new straight forks with cantis (mismatched brakes = meh...) - if you elect to strip and blue the Bianchi, the silver bits would be a nice offset. For the Lemond, not a fan of the black forks. Agree with davidvalleta2755 below, if you can paint the carbon forks white, cool - otherwise those white Lemond forks looked perfectly at home on the front of that frame. Any thought of running those Aliexpress / Surley knock off corner bars?? I bought some after watching your video and grew to really like them. I had to make some hand placement adjustments, but found them to be a nice touch on the commuter/gravel build. Either route you go, I'll look forward to watching the progress of giving an old bike a new life.
Blue the frame, black richey wheels and other black richey parts as much as possible, black avid v brakes, 2 rings in the front 9 in the back with wide range.
Lemond sin rosca, ruedas negras pero con tija de sillín y bielas también negras. Bianchi, pintura original, bielas plateadas, cambio stx y ruedas plateadas, pero con horquilla, tija de sillín, potencia de rosca y manillar plateados. Saludos desde España.
![Best Bike Restorations of 2024 [Compilation]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E3azqSWACvI/mqdefault.jpg)
Safety third, I almost choked on my coffee when you said that, lol. Personally I would put the Ritchey parts, and wheels on the blued Bianci frame, that would look much nicer.
The Bianchi frame. Remove any stickers that previous owners applied, clean with a rubbing compound then spray with clearcoat. I have always wanted to see how this would look to preserve the patina on an older frame.
Easy peassy. Threaded silver components on the Lemond. Including wheelset. Would change the Bianchi to all black components some chunky tan walls on black wheels. If you are set on bluing the frame, I think the dropouts should be painted to match the painted logos.
Whether original or repainted, stick with the classic Bianchi green. Cantilever brakes. Retro look overall.😊
This may sound weird but the classic lettering and that old Bianchi blue are just too special to ruin I think. how about taping off the lettered areas and add some black at the rear like a last of the Bontrager Privateers and make the crank black to match.
I would Paint the thread less fork white with decals to match the original. Build it how you want. Looks great so far!
Missed all the fun. I did a threadless conversion on a 2000 Zurich. Reason was rust had infiltrated under the powder coat near the bottle bosses so I had to strip it down to metal and repaint. I chose semi-matt Rustoleum black so I didn't have to do worry about doing a great job, just laying down the protection. I matched it to a semi-matt Ritchey 1" carbon fork and WCS headset, both of which can still be purchased brand new. Aside, another reason for the conversion was I had been a bit concerned about the safety of 20 yr old carbon forks. But I have since sort of done some testing on a different Zurich. I went 20+ kph into back of a stopped SUV. The front alu rim did a nice job of destroying itself to save the frame and fork, and me. We are all good and fully restored to roadgoing. Conclusion is those Air Rail Lemond forks are chicken done right. I would trust them despite the age unless there is visible damage. The bike had the beautiful original Campagnolo Chorus group, which I kept except converting to back to friction downtube shifters. Now whether 8-9-10 speed wheel, it doesn't matter. Tektro RL320 brake levers are a great hack. They're about $35 new and better quality than any of the original brake-only levers. In the end, the bike looks half stealth, half home-made, and only shows a few subtle Ritchey and Campagnolo labels. It's the best fitting, best riding bike I have. I'm ashamed to admit how much guilty enjoyment I derive from using it to terrorize the everything-cf crowd on any grade.
That Lemond will look amazing with modern parts, a full neo retro transformation! And the black will go well with that cream white frame
I also have a Lemond with many Ritchey parts - stem, seat post. The Bianchi would look very cool with a blued frame, with Celeste highlights and Cantilever brakes. Those are my picks.
That Bianchi frame color is iconic. It stands out as it is. Repaint it the same color.
They are iconic
I would leave the bianchi in the factory color way and use automotive buffing compound to remove the scuffs and scratches build with the origin 8 bar and cantilever brakes (I personally don’t like mixing brake styles). The lemond I would do the carbon fork but get different bars the drop looks huge, as for the Ritchey wheels those would go on the bike I would ride the most
I love the Bianchi the way it is with the original celeste color and black finishing kit, I'd love to see the Lemond threadless with the Ritchie wheelset and drop bars ❤❤
For me the colour of a Bianchi is what make them special, re-paint that specialized in the corner instead😉. For the bianchi, I’d do that retro-neo, looking like a 80’s pro bike but made as comfy as possible, swept back handlebars etc. you will never look for another commuter. For the lemond, reversed, all in neo-retro for sure, it will look awesome. Whatever it turns out in the end I’m sure it will be great (and loads of fun building and riding. Thanks for the constant solid content. Cheers
Blue the lugs...paint the tubes the Bianchi green. Keep the Tange fork to go all canti.
I feel your pain, just built my surly bc. After all sleepless nights I did a 3x8sp 22/32/42 crankset 170mm, and 11/36 cassette. I've build many bikes and always debate on disk front and rim brake rear. I try to use what parts I have. Debating Wether short or long pull brake levers and matching with shifters.
Having watched many of your videos I'm sure you will follow your intuition and resolve the issues as they unfold, love your work an inspiration and insight to others who want to personalise there riding experiance and demonstrates the flexibility of a well built rig that fulfilled a multiple of rolls with imagination you show how it can be done.
Go with the Lemond, the ride quality of that Reynolds 853 tubeset is awesome!
Retain the patina! Use silver components, if possible. Keep it simple use post mount brakes and Tange fork. Use Ritchey wheels on the Lemond and the threaded quill stem bar combination.
Definitely reuse that crank that is beautiful
To redo the frame with paint strip, decals and bluing, will be amazing, but A LOT of work. The easy way is just kleaning/ polish the frame.
With a bluing the black Ritchey wheels, Ritchey seatppst, Ritchey stem and the Ritchey bar (of course) will look sweet!
Friksjon shifters and cantis, or more modern 1×12/ 2×12? 🤔
No crazy bar set-up wil look god on this slim beautiful frame. Keep it simple.
The Lemond with the silver wheels and original threaded fork.
Choose the drivetrain you'd like. You can go modern/ electric, hollow-teck or friksjon with classic drive line (Campi?).
Can't wait to see how much effort goes into bluing the frame. 😅🔥
Blueing is awesome! The voodoo was badass
Go all gloss black with mint green accents. Black Ritchey wheels, too. Go all Ritchey for the wheels, seat post, stem & bars. No dics, keep the rim brakes..
The retro cantis and levers would look awesome with a blued frame
On the BIanchi Strada. Strip it and blue it, with Bianchi Celeste decals, Ritchey all the way around on bars, seatpost and stem. Use the black wheels and keep the Tange fork. Mine is a 2001 in a very nice metallic burgundy. I have Avid shortys Ultimates and Avid brake levers. Microshift Advent X 10 sp. with both drop bar and flat bar setups I can swap back and forth. Mine is Reynolds 521, nothing special, but man it is a sweet riding gravel bike. It is just nice to see another Strada somewhere!!!
Leave the paint. It looks awesome
I'd leave it the OG mint color. I like seeing the life old bikes have been through and the story it tells.
I agree considering its the anniversary edition
The Lemond with the threadless setup and the Ritchey wheels looked killer.
I like the look of the bluing on your other bikes, but on the Bianchi, I think you should repaint it the same color, but change the color of the lettering to orange with a black outline (and maybe some orange accent parts here & there). And I really like alt bars on gravel bikes, but what I think would really look cool on that bike would be either some bull-moose bars or some moustache bars. Also, I think you should keep the current fork and use cantilever breaks.👍
I agree with others about preserving the paint on the Bianchi.
Keep the Bianchi as is, clean the paint up but keep the character and patina. Black out the drievetrain and cockpit. That Bianchi paint would compliment the black better than the Lemond will. White and silver is the classic look on the Lemond. Look forward to whatever build path you choose!
If you strip the paint of the Bianchi you could weld a disc tab to it and combine it with the Salsa fork
I would leave the Bianchi as is. Classic color way. Then I would pick the style of build and go with it. Your choices of wheels and bars are for completely different bikes. Don’t mix brakes.
Heresy if you repaint a Bianchi. (keep it worn, ripped and real) ... As for the parts, retro (look) alloy parts; stem, seat post, brake levers (like 80's BMX) , perhaps a STX era (or XT) shifters with leather grips, rapid fire type set up and go for a near Ally cat-esque build (the brooks vintage saddle with vintage (look) alloy or chrome parts all the way) Road bike brake calipers (chrome / alloy), white brake cables, Then its down to taste... but mixing in chrome / alloy on a bianchi is a win. (kinda like a rat rod, leather and chrome ). black or carbon is too modern.... but hey ... who am I to say (maybe its a European thing... (italian girls ) Enjoy your vidz... more coffee!
I am dying to see you paint a frame, however, IMHO, Celeste Green is just one of those colors which is special. It is the universal symbol for a Bianchi and it is a lovely color. For the Lemond, I like the Lemond fork but thing you should convert it to threadless with an Innicycle Threadless Conversion Headset. I did that for one of my bikes and was really happy with the result.
Having it blued with the Bianchi Celeste green frame highlights and logos. Then the all Ritchey components and wheels with the cantilever brakes would be my choice. The Lemond with all silver components and wheels would work but I agree that a white frame with black forks and components would look better
Everything Bianchi from those years is amazing!
Blueing that frame would be the best way to go with the Bianchi logo outlined with the Green.
The silver double wall rims look cool and seem efficient enough.
That frame would benefit a lot from an having a sturdier fork, maybe there’s something similar to that salsa fork with cantis.
do the threaded, love the matching fork
Lemond: keep it old school. Unique retro road bikes are very cool🤙🤙
Drops on both that is. Carbon forks for both. Rolf Vectors look cool on my Lemonds. Threadless with the Zurich.
Yes: blue the Bianchi, but definitely have the celeste (Bianchi green) color accents. That will be beautiful!👍
New mint green paint job , black Richie rim set plus stem, and handlebars, 10speed cassette set, rapid fire shifters then stay with the rim brakes that match that set that my opinion 😊
Bianchi:
- patina
- retro ritchey parts (maybe even silver)
- reg. flat bar, no weird bike packing bars
- ritchey Wheelset
- tange fork
- cantis
- Shimano
Lemond:
- Quill Stem
Nice frames. Im excited for the Bianchi
I like the Lemond with the black components. I would suggest adding a touch of color to the fork maybe "Lemond" decal? to bring it together.
As where as for the second bike frame I would be likely turned into a High Performance by throwing in a really cool racing gears in the rear-end. Try to keep it strictly stripped down.
I would put the Ritchi handle bars with the Ritchi wheels and then consider bluing those Chrome handlebars on the white bike.
put the ritchey wheels and stem on, love matching parts like that
Threadless. Silver wheels on Bianchi. Canti front and rear also.
Cantilevers is probably the best idea for this project considering you have uses for other parts on other projects. They'll be plenty powerful for the bike that you're riding
If you do blue the frame, I think the silver wheels will contrast well. The Ritcheys will blend in with the blue fame. I’d go silver
Mockup was helpful on LeMond. Thos wheels work really well. And they match the carbon fork and threadless stem/headset best.
I would build the Lemond with modern carbon parts and black rims and carbon fork. The Bianchi mint green is pretty dope. Keep that but clean it up as much as you can. You can always repaint some boring black or red or blue bike.
I'm not a fan of black parts but they can look kool. I would go classic with the full Ritchie. Silver parts, wheels, crank, and silver chain. Get radical with the Bianchi. Black parts with a blued frame and bianchi green to highlight the logos...and big toothy tires as the frame will allow.
I would say stiletto fork on the Bianchi if you add a disc brake tab to the frame. Don't mix and match brake types on a build. I also think drop bars for the Bianchi, but that's just me.
Threadless for the win on the Lemond.
Definitely keep the LeMond fork!
Colour of the frame : blue the frame leave the name ectr. in brushed steel and the edge of the letters in the green would be cool , with the brakes I don't know what to say every option is ok-ish but I would rather search for some old Magura HS33 (just my favourit thing). The 1st wheel set with the straight spokes in the front is more a road type , so I would take the 2nd set . The riser bar and the salsa stem looks fine to me so I would keep them . I love the look of that Microshift shifter ... reminds me of the good old ones of Shimano and will do a good job if you choose a 34/11 cassette in the back and the STX derailleur would give it a nice retro sporty look .
I think the color is interesting and I like having a bit of patina. Personally I probably would just clean it up, keep it as is.
I like matching stem/seatpost/handlebar and Ritchey parts look good on older bikes.
The handlebars might be a bit wide for my taste and for this kind of bike, would probably go with something ~600mm.
I like the current fork and wheels, the Ritchey wheels look like they would fit better on the road bike.
I'd keep the factory paint on the Bianchi and custom paint the parts with a desert theme; fork, crank arms, bars, seatpost, and hubs. V brakes front and rear, 1x 10 speed, starnut with a hollow bolt to run the front brake cable through. The Lemond would look so rad as a street fighter. Keep shredding 🤙
Leman: threaded and Ritchie wheels. In the Bianchi: leave original paint and use Salsa Fork. Great channel…
I think the Bianchi should stay the classic green. Love the black Richey wheels on the Bianchi. I would blue the LeMond because the bluing looks great.
Quite like the blueing idea with Celeste Green letters. Would Celeste Green seat and chain stays be too much?
Whatever custom paint(or blueing), it NEEDS to incorporate some Bianchi Celeste. Salsa fork with front mechanical or hydro-mechanical caliper, with the STX-RC levers and derailleur, 1x8. Ritchey wheelset, Ritchey accesories, Ritchey pedals, etc...
Build the LeMond as a light fast road bike, threadless...but, maybe find a way for the white Lemond fork to fit a threadless stem.
I also think Ritchie wheels, Ritchie stem/handlebar, and Ritchie seat post all in black would be way cool
Braze a disc mount on the rear for the Bianchi
The bike you would build to see you through an economic depression like the 1930's. Something like a more modern take on a Buffalo bike.Thank You and God bless.
Bianchi green is close in color to oxidized copper that when scuffed, buffed, and lacquered it gives a similar vibe to a rat rod model A. My vote will be randomly sand/sandblast the frame as to expose only certain and sections of bare metal. Whether random, or in specific fashion I digress. After, sand, and polish the exposed steel sections. With chrome components and polished raw sections, you will have yourself a Bianchi with the characteristics of a rat rod paint scheme; incomplete, raw, but someone has taken the time to bring it back to being pure workhorse.
I like the idea of blues steel if it looks like rifle steel when it's done. I don't like logos and brand names so I would leave the bars stem and wheels unbranded and maybe a subtle biabchi on the frame. and the fork you hav on is great as I would go with the same brakes on both ends.
Lemond fork with ahead adapter, and zipp stem
I' very done some bike build. What I would do is build a celeste green bianchi, gravel drop bar, canti, 2x9 or 1x brifter if possible, use the ritchey wheelsblack components . I've build a Lemond, I'd do a drop bar, keep the original fork or it's worthless if separated. Threadless stem extension, any group set sora and up, ritchey finishing kit would be great but I've found plenty of Bonti new take off for cheap which are the wheels I'd look for
For the Bianchi, blue the frame, then get the Bianchi blue/green paint and use it for accents. As for the fork, I would use whichever gives the best ride. I should say the same goes for the LeMond, but I really lean towards keeping the original frameset together. These are both great projects, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out.
I would keep this Bianchi in its original colour, and may add a soft "surface paintjob" with a sponge ... probably in yellow or pink.
Your bike, your call. To me, Bianchi is Celeste. I've owned a few and would have them no other way. I like a polished old style stem, hate straight forks, am not much more fond of unicorns 😂, don't see a need for more than 7 or 8 cogs. Yes, I'm a bit of a retro grouch. Still to each his own. Am especially curious about the brakes. Cantilever but what kind, style?
On my old road bikes, with threat headset, I use the adapter to ahead stems
Keep the bianchi as is don’t blow it. pop those Ritchey wheels on it with canti brakes and ride. Go threaded steerer and silver stem on the lemond.
On the lemond I think the threadless in the black looks very good
N I’m a sucker for vintage road, so taking the original fork off goes against most my feelings on rebuilding but can’t deny the black looks GOOD
1 blue it with Celeste highlights and those retro Bianchi decals. Also go Ritchey for the finishing kit and rims in black. C 😮a you find aBridgestone/Ritchey fork?
2. Lemons with the aluminum colored wheels, threaded fork with quill stem, but change to compact bars. I have a white Pinarello with black Deda finishing kit and DT Swiss 511 rims, looks great, but I think the Lemond would look better retro style.
Lemond: original fork with a an quill to ahead adapter + the black parts.
If you're painting/refinishing the Bianchi couldn't you have a local frame builder add canti posts onto the fork and remove the disk mount for a clean and uniform look?
Bianchi original color scheme with Ritchie wheels,Salsa fork stem and bars, and yes, disk up front.
Lemond: I would look at a 1 to 1 1/8 adaptor to give you more stem and bar options which helps with fit.
Bianchi: preferably all canti brakes.
I would clean them and get them rolling and swap parts as required, then see what they say to you.
I'd go original paint and all silver components with a nice silver alt bar from velo orange or something like nitto
If I was you! I'll keep the original color scheme on the Bianchi; but you could do the Bluing on the tail end and the fork and the Handle bar. As where for repainting it be a good idea. But try to keep the original color scheme.
I like the origin 8 Jones copy bar. It's got subtle curves unlike the Jones
Keep original paint. The color is classic and what makes it special. I like the silver and black component look. Ritchey wheel set on Bianchi. Keep black Ritchey handlebar and existing fork.
The Bianchi Colour is called celeste, keep it in this patina, one option is to build it up with a drop bar maybe one eleven, or one ten...
I know I'm late to the party, but here I go: Bianchi: If you repaint it, do it just like the original. Use the Salsa fork, get a Ritchie stem and use the Ritchie wheels. Put the widest slicks that will fit on it. I'd see how it is with the Ritchie bars, but I bet for what you are going for those Origin 8 bars would be pretty boss on it.
The Lemond should come together with other parts magically coming to you (though I lean toward the threaded as a start).
Blue it, and give a good tutorial on how to do it, if you can find a Nitto Bullmoose handlebar stem combo, put it on... I have one on my Trek Multitrack.. it looks real cool on an old hybrid and super comfortable.
If you repaint the bianchi, I would go with one of their color schemes. Blue with white decals or (my favourite) black with celeste decals. But, it's also nice as it is right now. I like the LeMonde with the more modernd parts. Also a black seatpost an modernish groupset could make this an absolute weapon. Although, the original fork is lovely. Not sure how I would go from there, though.
9:32 a disc in the front and a v brake in the back is retro now.
I have the same Strada and the color really pops with silver components. I love the font! i am interested in tires choice especially how big will fit?
If that Bianchi were mine I wouldn’t touch the frame other than cleaning it up. I’d run the Ritchey wheels, seatpost, stem, and bars. But I would run a drop bar because that’s just what I like. And for the fork I’d go on eBay and find a Ritchey carbon CX fork. Overall it’d have a cyclocross vibe with the v brakes.
Bluing it would be very cool!
Scratch around more for a straight for with cantilever mounts.
Look for old kona the project steel fork. It has a brake bosses for cantilever brakes and possibly the same axle to crown length from your Bianchi fork
For the brakes use the Shimano Xtr
Go with your feelings. If mine, Ritchey Steam, bar, wheels and seatpost. Color scheme your choice. A 2015 bike scrapped over Is just careless ownership, nothing really antique to preserve. Components your choice, too, resto mod Is a temptation, but agree with the community, dont mix brake systems like an old Walmart bike... Good luck and keep sharing your amazing job with us!
Sorry, Stem, not Steam...
Thread less on the lemond.
I think stick with the all Ritchey parts on the bianchi. And what ever happens, keep the Bianchi green on that bike
The black bits on the original Bianchi patina look great - just maybe find some new straight forks with cantis (mismatched brakes = meh...) - if you elect to strip and blue the Bianchi, the silver bits would be a nice offset. For the Lemond, not a fan of the black forks. Agree with davidvalleta2755 below, if you can paint the carbon forks white, cool - otherwise those white Lemond forks looked perfectly at home on the front of that frame. Any thought of running those Aliexpress / Surley knock off corner bars?? I bought some after watching your video and grew to really like them. I had to make some hand placement adjustments, but found them to be a nice touch on the commuter/gravel build.
Either route you go, I'll look forward to watching the progress of giving an old bike a new life.
Bar/stem combos, threaded, threadless, etc. whatever floats your boat and works the best in your opinion.
Blue the frame, black richey wheels and other black richey parts as much as possible, black avid v brakes, 2 rings in the front 9 in the back with wide range.
Ritchey stem and wheels for sure❤
On the bianchi
Lemond sin rosca, ruedas negras pero con tija de sillín y bielas también negras.
Bianchi, pintura original, bielas plateadas, cambio stx y ruedas plateadas, pero con horquilla, tija de sillín, potencia de rosca y manillar plateados.
Saludos desde España.